Monday, February 25, 2008

Oscar Follow-Up

I'm actually very pleased with the results from last night. I couldn't be happier that "Falling Slowly" won and it was a smart move by the show to allow Marketa back out to give a speech. Very well done. What shocked me the most however was during the montage of the previous 79 winners for Best Picture. Just look at this ten year stretch:

1969: Midnight Cowboy
1970: Patton
1971: The French Connection
1972: The Godfather
1973: The Sting
1974: The Godfather Part II
1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976: Rocky (Over Taxi Driver and Network)
1977: Annie Hall
1978: The Deer Hunter

And now the last ten years:
2006: The Departed
2005: Crash
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2003: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2002: Chicago
2001: A Beautiful Mind
2000: Gladiator
1999: American Beauty
1998: Shakespeare in Love
1997: Titanic

Holy crap, what slap in the face. What happened?? NF, is there something you can do about this please? Thanks.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

The National @ Howard Gilman Opera House, 2/23/08

At this point there's very little else either of us can really say about The National. This is the fifth time I've seen them in the last year and they continue to impress and amaze me. This performance at the Howard Gilman Opera House (BAM!) was easily the best that I've witnessed. The sound and acoustics were amazing (as you would expect in an opera house) and I love that the band took this opportunity to include strings, horns, and winds.

Setlist:
"Start a War"
"Brainy"
"Baby, We'll Be Fine"
"Slow Show"
"Secret Meeting"
"Mistaken for Strangers"
"Squalor Victoria"
"Abel"
"Wasp Nest"
"Racing like a Pro"
"Ada" (w/ Sufjan Stevens)
"Apartment Story"
"(New Song)"
"Green Gloves"
"Fake Empire"

Encore 1:
"City Middle"
"Mr. November"
"Daughters of the Soho Riots"

Encore 2:
"Gospel"
"About Today"

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Black Mountain @ Bowery Ballroom, 1/22/08

I like Black Mountain and I get their shtick. I just haven't really felt the urge to see them live. That all changed, however, on the strength of one song. When they released "Tyrants" back in November, I immediately bought tickets when their Bowery show went on sale. That's the best opening to a rock song I think I've heard since Trail of Dead hit me with "Will you Smile Again For Me" in '05. And "Tyrants" sounded amazing last night as did many of their other songs including "Druganaut" and "No Satisfaction." I didn't particularly like all the extra reverb on the female vocals and the band pretty much stuck to the recorded version of the songs. Overall, the show played out exactly as I expected. It rocked unbelievably hard at times, the crowd seemed to really be into it and as is the case with just about every show I see at Bowery, I can't really complain.

Tonight, it's The National at BAM. I read they added string and horn sections for last night's show (and a guest from Sufjan on "Ada" which I could care less about). Yes, I'm excited.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Oscars

As everyone knows by now, the Oscars are this Sunday night and I'm still bitter about the Eddie snub. That said, "Falling Slowly" is as great as any song that appeared on the Into the Wild soundtrack. So...I'm holding out hope for a victory there (I assume it's highly unlikely).

m4a: Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová - "Falling Slowly"

As far as my favorite movies released domestically in 2007, I'd put them in this order:

1. No Country for Old Men
2. There Will Be Blood
3. The Lives of Others
4. Once
5. Into the Wild

Of course, many of these could change as there are still several films that are high on my list to see.

New Cloud Cult MP3; Album Art?

As mentioned previously, Cloud Cult, has a new album coming out in April called Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes). Now Pitchfork gives us our first listen. Forkcast has an MP3 to "When Water Comes to Life."

I'm also assuming this is the cover art since it's now on the Cloud Cult site.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

All Points West Poster

Well it may be Jersey but it's also Radiohead. And while the rest of the line-up leaves quite a bit to be desired, I'll still be there. I'll give them points for a nice poster design too.

Tickets for ALL POINTS WEST go on sale Friday, February 29 at 12 Noon (ET) via www.ticketmaster.com only. Single day passes are $89 and three-day passes are $258.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Eddie Vedder West Coast Solo Tour

In impossible-to-get ticket news, Eddie Vedder will be doing a short theater tour in support of his Into the Wild soundtrack. Tickets go on sale to the general public next Friday, 2/22 @ 1pm EST. Ten Club ticket info here.

Tour Dates:

Apr 02 Vancouver, BC The Centre
Apr 05 Santa Cruz, CA SC Civic Auditorium
Apr 07 Berkeley, CA Zellerbach Theatre
Apr 10 Santa Barbara, CA Arlington Theatre
Apr 12 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
Apr 13 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
Apr 15 San Diego, CA Spreckels Theater

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Foals @ Bowery Ballroom, 2/12/08

I'm pretty sure Foals have solidified the top spot as my favorite new band of 2008. They already have a very impressive triple threat working in their favor: signed to Sub Pop, hail from Oxford, and have completed an awesome David Sitek-produced debut album Antidotes. What I didn't expect was just how impressive their live performance would prove to be. They were incredibly tight and rocked the shit out of Bowery. So much so that the guitar player was literally throwing up during a song late in the set and never even missed a beat. I'm also quite certain that this had nothing to do with a lack of sobriety.

Set list via The Music Slut. Good pics over at BV.

Cans Of Rain (instrumental)
The French Open
Cassius
Olympic Airways
Electric Bloom
Balloons
Heavy Water
Two Steps Twice
Hummer
Red Sock Pugie
Encore:
Mathletics

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

More Pitchfork Nonsense

Today, Pitchfork refers to British Sea Power's Do you Like Rock Music?, as "an album that will either thrill or repel listeners depending on their taste for bombastic arena rock." In what will likely become another well publicized cop out, Pitchfork therefore rated the album U.2. Get it, U2. Terrible.

Fortunately, MetaCritic confirms the sentiment I had towards the album back in December. It's a damn fine piece of work.

British Sea Power - 2008 Tour Dates (via BV)
Feb 25 San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
Feb 27 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
Feb 28 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland *
Feb 29 Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door *
Mar 01 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (NoisePop) *
Mar 03 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir *
Mar 04 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's *
Mar 05 Vancouver, BC @ Plaza Club *
Mar 08 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive *
Mar 12 New York NY @ Late Show w/David Letterman
Mar 13-16 Austin TX @ SxSW
Mar 19 Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room *
Mar 20 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews *
Mar 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock *
Mar 22 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club ++
Mar 24 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ++
Mar 25 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theatre ++
Mar 26 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop ++
Mar 27 Columbus, OH @ The Basement ++
Mar 28 Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern ++
Mar 29 St. Louis, MO @ Billiken Club ++
Apr 11 TBC
Apr 12 Austin, TX @ Club Deville
Apr 13 Houston, TX @ Engine Room
Apr 15 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
Apr 16 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
Apr 17 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder - Florida State University
Apr 18 Orlando, FL @ The Social
Apr 19 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Apr 20 Mount Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
Apr 21 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Apr 22 Birmingham, AB @ Bottletree
Apr 23 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo's **
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry's **
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge **
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle **
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle **
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom **
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat **
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's **
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom **
May 11 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg **
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise **
May 14 TBC
May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa **
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee's Palace **
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf **
May 18 TBC

* w/ Colourmusic
** w/ The Rosebuds
++ w/ 1900's

STP @ Rock On The Range

Looks like Rock on the Range is the first confirmed tour date for STP.

And hey, I guess Filter is getting back together?

Monday, February 11, 2008

Grammy Highlight

The Grammy Awards are a joke. Music fans know this. However, the Kanye West and Daft Punk performance killed. Many were shocked by their appearance but Daft and Punk both apparently live in LA so I don't see this as being a stretch. It was reportedly their first ever t.v. appearance.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Body of War

From Billboard:

Tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Bright Eyes, Serj Tankian and Tom Morello will be found on the two-disc collection Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran.

The set is due March 18 via Sire, with a vinyl edition arriving April 15. The documentary of the same name premiered last September at the Toronto International Film Festival and will roll out to additional markets in the coming months.

As previously reported, Body of War chronicles the travails of Tomas Young, who was paralyzed by a bullet during his first week of military service in Iraq. Vedder was inspired to write new material for the film, which was co-directed by talk show legend Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, after meeting Young in recent months.

The first single from the album, which was curated by the injured Young, will be a version of Vedder's "No More" performed with guest Ben Harper during Pearl Jam's set at the 2007 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.

And while the full track list is still coming together, expect to find Bright Eyes' "When the President Talks To God" and Morello's "Battle Hymns" (under his Nightwatchman alter ego) on the album, plus songs from Harper, No Use For a Name, RX Bandits and Michael Franti, among others.

"The songs collected here are the sounds that have helped to inspire me and keep me going as I struggle to find the strength to deal with my new physical limitations while trying to find the energy to fight when many parts of my body and brain are telling me to stop," Young says. "Each song you hear you're hearing because I found a meaning in it that helped focus a number of emotions and turn them into something that I hope will ultimately be positive."

A portion of the proceeds from Songs That Inspired... will be donated to Iraq Veterans Against the War.
MP3: Eddie Vedder - "No More" [Live]

Bonnaroo 2008 Lineup

Two words: Pearl. Jam.

Monday, February 04, 2008

New Cloud Cult (!); Interview with KEXP; Tour Dates

Ok, now THIS is some good news. BV's post this morning definitely caught me by surprise. Prolific song-writer Craig Minowa and Cloud Cult will be releasing Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) on April 8th. Funny enough, NF and I were just talking about the idea of new some Cloud Cult yesterday. No word yet on album art or track listing but the album will be on sale on their Web site in early March. KEXP has an interview with my favorite live painters, Connie (Minowa) and Scott.

Tour Dates:
Mar 10 - Davey's Uptown Rambler Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 12 - Granada Theater Dallas, Texas
Mar 13 - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 14 - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 15 - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 16 - Revolution Music Room Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 17 - The Bluebird St. Louis, Missouri
Apr 11 - High Noon Saloon Madison, Wisconsin
Apr 12 - Radio Radio Indianapolis, Indiana
Apr 18 - The Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Apr 25 - Schuba's Tavern Chicago, Illinois
Apr 25 - Schuba's Tavern Chicago, Illinois
Apr 26 - First Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 9 - Neumos Seattle, Washington
May 10 - Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon
May 13 - Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, California
May 14 - Knitting Factory Hollywood, California
May 17 - Larimer Lounge Denver, Colorado

Random Super Bowl Observations

Well, I'm still in shock over what transpired last night. It was certainly the best game I can remember watching in some time but even as a Redskins fan, I couldn't help but feel saddened by how it all went down for the Pats. Honestly, if I were a Pats fan, I would question Belichick's decision to wear that random red sweatshirt (instead of his go-to grey) FIRST, and the 4th and 13th play SECOND.

* I am really looking forward to a vacation from Joe Buck.

* Why exactly was there a Declaration of Independence recital during the pre-game show?

* As usual, the ads were mostly hit and miss. My favorites: Tide's talking stain, the 4th quarter E-Trade commercial with the talking baby and Bobo the clown, the Cars.com tiny head, and of course, the Will Ferrell Bud Light. By the way, I highly recommend the age restricted trailer to Semi-Pro if you haven't seen it yet.

* Has anyone else noticed just how ridiculous truck ads are becoming? I'm half expecting one of these ads to take place on the moon because they're obviously running out of ideas for stupid stunts to show a truck's strength. "Look at how this Ford F150 handles the moon craters!"

* I thought Tom Petty did a very solid job during the half-time show. He didn't blow me away like Prince did last year but the Super Bowl has gotten it right two straight years now. I'm going for tickets to the TP & the Heartbreakers show at the Garden at 10 today.

* Did anyone else notice Fox's use of Arcade Fire with their footage leading into the 3rd quarter? Not bad. UPDATE: the band certainly did.